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March 2025

Never forget: Never again: When will we ever learn? Diane Bederman

https://dianebederman.com/never-forget-never-again-when-will-we-ever-learn/

For centuries, for millennia we have always had Jews who believed if they just lay low, acculturate, assimilate, they would be liked and respected.

Today, those Jews are found in the Democrat Party in America.

When will we ever learn?

Let’s go back to recent history and take another look at Nazi Germany and the Jews.

Jews had lived in Germany since the Middle Ages. And, as in much of Europe, they faced widespread persecution there for many centuries. It was not until the 19th century that Jews in Germany were given the same rights as Christian Germans. By 1933, when the Nazis came to power, Germany’s Jews were well integrated and even assimilated into German society. Despite their integration, Germany’s Jews still maintained a discernible identity and culture.

In 1933, the Jewish population of Germany numbered about 525,000. This was less than one percent of the total German population at the time.

Most Jews in Germany (about 400,000 people) held German citizenship. Many of these Jews came from families who had been in Germany for centuries. These families spoke German as their primary language. Most considered themselves German. In some cases, they had intermarried with non-Jews.

Many Jews saw themselves as a religious group. They were Germans who practiced Judaism. Others saw themselves as an ethnic group. They were Jews who lived in Germany.

Despite being integrated into German society, Jews faced discrimination in Germany. For example, not all Germans believed that Jews could be German. Some groups, including many university student clubs, banned Jews from membership. Some political parties, including the Nazi Party, were openly anti-Jewish. Negative stereotypes of Jews appeared in the press. 

No Time Left: China and Russia Making Sure Iran Goes Nuclear Before End of Trump’s Ultimatum by Majid Rafizadeh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21507/nuclear-iran-no-time-left

Now, with Trump’s ultimatum delivered on March 7 to Iran— giving the regime a two-month deadline either to give up its nuclear and missile programs or face severe consequences — Beijing and Moscow have simply been accelerating Tehran’s efforts to join the nuclear club and to possesses at least six nuclear bombs before Trump’s deadline expires.

A meeting between Iranian and Chinese officials in Beijing, followed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s outright rejection of Trump’s warnings, could signal a dangerous development: Iran has likely received guarantees from China and Russia that they will protect the regime, support its nuclear program, and ensure that it acquires nuclear weapons before the possibly-too-generous deadline Trump has set, no matter the consequences.

Iran’s bold rejection of Trump’s threats may not be based on internal strength but on external guarantees. Beijing and Moscow have likely calculated that if Iran regime joins the nuclear club and possesses nuclear bombs before Trump’s deadline expires and he takes direct action, then the West will be forced to accept a nuclear-armed Iran, just as it has had to accept a nuclear North Korea.

With Trump’s ultimatum in place, these adversaries are racing against the clock to ensure that Iran becomes a nuclear-armed state. If the US and its allies fail to act immediately, the balance of power could shift permanently, and the West could lose the war before realizing it had even begun.

Talk surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions has long focused on the ruling ayatollahs and their determined pursuit of nuclear weapons. The West’s primary focus has been mainly on Iran’s domestic leadership: the Supreme Leader, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran’s nuclear scientists. What remains overlooked is the significant role that China, North Korea and Russia have been playing to make sure that Iran achieves nuclear weapons breakout before US President Donald J. Trump’s “two-month ultimatum” runs out.